Got Your Back
by Franki09
Summary: "Want me to help you with that, Grace?" she asked, a playful smirk tugging at her lips as Jason fumbled with his armour straps, his chest plate back to front and lopsided. He pursed his lips, the scar disappearing slightly. Slight romance, please R&R!


To see him, standing there, clad in battle armour. It was almost too much for Reyna to bear. The sunlight that flooded the field painted his handsome face in gold, highlighting the blood and making his face shiny from sweat. Gladius was clutched in his hand so hard the skin stretched over his knuckles had turned white and Reyna could almost see the spear snapping in two from his sheer grip. Her throat was hoarse and she wanted to cry out to him desperately, to shout his name, but the agonising pain in her stomach sent her heart into her mouth and blocked any sound she tried to make. All the left her bloody lips was a faint, pitiful whimper.

All the while, she expected him to turn, to see her and coming running to her side. He would have done, back in the old days. He would've noticed she wasn't behind his back, and he would've come running for her, ignoring all the monsters and rogue demigods, his clear, strong voice calling desperately for her. Reyna comforted herself with the thought of him kneeling gently down by her side, a single tear slipping down his face and onto her cheek as he cups her face and softly feeds her some ambrosia. As she lay there, her body still, she could just picture his beautiful, vibrant blue eyes peering tenderly down at her, and she wanted to lie there swimming in his gaze forever.

But as she felt her trusted gold spear slip onto the grass from her loose grip, she knew there was no point. He was busy defending himself, and even if he had come to her side, it wouldn't change their relationship in any way. Forcing her eyelids to flutter open slightly, just for one last glimpse, she saw him again. She saw the determination in his eyes as he swung his weapon as if it were a deadly elongation of his arm, like they were one being, a lethal killing machine. This was Reyna's favourite view of him. He was never more handsome than when he was wounded and bloody and sweaty and his weapon was in his hand. This was where he belonged.

No. He belonged with Reyna, back to back as they tossed banter around as playfully as if it were all a game, ignoring the pain and knowing full well that one would be safe as long as they had the other. Closing her eyes as the pain subsided, Reyna let a blissful smile slip onto her lips weakly as she thought of the battle at Mount Othrys, as they were preparing...

"_Want me to help you with that, Grace?" she asked, a playful smirk tugging at her lips as Jason sloppily fumbled with his armour straps, his chest plate back to front and lopsided. He pursed his lips, the cute scar on the corner of his mouth almost disappearing from view as he did so. _

"_I'm fine, _Reyna,_" he replied, averting his gaze as he continued to fail with his armour proudly. Reyna sighed and rolled her eyes. _Gods, the damn pride of that boy! _She thought, stepping over to help him. Her gaze drooped slightly as she lifted the armour over his head, silently urging him to oblige so she could straighten out his armour and put it on properly. He tensed beneath her touch, but relaxed and reluctantly raised his arms as she gently raised the chest plate above his head and turned it round the right way. He slowly swivelled around to face her, his eyes lowered as he stared at the floor. Wordlessly slipping the armour over his shoulders, Reyna tried not to think about what was in store for them as she patiently pulled on the straps and tied them tightly._

"_Are you alright?" he asked gently, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder once she had finished._

"_I'm fine, _Jason,_" she replied, attempting to make light of the situation by mocking the tone of voice he had used on her earlier. He smiled slightly, but sadly, as he saw the look in her dark eyes that gave away her emotion. He silently wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her tangled black hair and allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. "It'll be okay," he assured, not wanting to think about the fact that in a few minutes, they would be fighting for their lives in the sick finale of a play that was the Titan War. "I got your back."_

"_I know," she murmured, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "I'm just..." she struggled for the right word as she pulled herself away from his embrace, "...nervous. That's all."_

_With one hand still gripping her shoulder, her gently tilted her head upwards with a finger under her chin. "No-one's going to die in this battle, Reyna. I'll be behind you all the while, and if some stupid monster so much as scrapes you, I'll rip him to shreds. With my teeth."_

_Reyna chuckled at this, staring back into his strong, striking eyes. "Don't be silly, fellow Praetor Grace," she teased. "I'd have killed any monster that came near me before you could notice I was bleeding."_

"_Oh? Is that so, darling Reyna?" he raised his blonde eyebrow. "So I tell you that I'll risk my life to protect you, and you respond my saying you can risk your life better than me?" he clutched his heart with his hand. "I've never been so offended!"_

_Reyna rolled her eyes, again. She was glad that no-one was here to watch it, because she only ever let her stony demeanour slip when she was around Jason. "You'll risk your life me? Well then, that changes things," she said, hugging him again. His hand lightly stroked her cascade of black hair. "Because I'd risk my life for you too."_

_She meant it in a teasing nature, but Jason knew her well enough to identify the truth in her voice. Reyna meant every word she said. "That's nice, but I bet I'll be able to kill more monsters than you."_

_It was her turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Why don't we see? Keep a score on how many monsters we kill, or something."_

_Jason smirked. "You're on."_

_Reyna pulled her spear of the weapon rack and headed to the door. She could feel Jason watching her, but she didn't mind. Pausing in front of the door, she turned to face him. "You ready, Grace?"_

"_As ready as I'll ever be," he pulled Ivlivs from the weapon rack and faced her, turning the coin over in his hand._

"_Stop being cheesy."_

"_Yes, ma'am."_

"_Don't call me ma'am."_

"_Yes ma-" he caught himself, closing his mouth like a codfish. "I mean Reyna."_

_She just smiled, feeling enlightened rather than frightened about the upcoming battle. She had Jason. Jason had her. She felt his fingers intertwine with hers as they made their way towards their doom._

"_Jason?" she asked tentatively, gripping his hand harder. It was such a relief to be able to break from her responsibilities and act carefree, but these were special moments, and Reyna wanted to make the most of this one before they were tossed into a death-defying war._

"_Yeah?"_

"_I-" she faltered, and turned to face him. "I just wanted you to know, that I've got your back."_

_Jason smiled and squeezed her hand comfortingly. "I got your back too."_

Reyna would have captured that moment and replayed it over and over in her mind for her final moments, but she was brought back to reality when another searing pain flared up inside her body, rippling throughout her veins and spreading like wildfire. She curled up and jerked back, letting an excruciating wail rip from her dry throat.

No-one heard. Not Percy, or Frank, or Gwen or Octavian. Not Jason. Besides, Reyna was so close to unconsciousness from the pain she probably wouldn't have noticed in her hazy, subconscious state if anyone came to her aid. The last thing she saw before her eyelids demanded they be closed, was the girl Piper McLean running to Jason, shooting him a brief yet sweet smile with which he returned before rushing to his back and fending off some attacking monsters. The way they moved and worked together, like they were one being, reminded Reyna of the way that _she_ and Jason used to fight together. Their deadly, invincible technique that he and the _Graecus_ had somehow adopted.

But the thought only crossed her mind briefly before her eyes flickered closed and Reyna was thrown into a state of mind where she was trapped, unable to hear anything but the screams and metal clangs that surrounded her, the snarling and sneers of the enemies. She was incapable of thinking and the only pain her mind could register was dull and faint. It was peaceful, almost, and eventually a complete amity washed over her like a tide and Reyna could only hear the slow, weak beating of her heart. Everything was dark and shadowy. There was no need for anything now. There was only Reyna and the darkness, and that is how she would stay for the rest of eternity now. She had given up.

Then Reyna was jolted, so rudely interrupted, from the darkness and she was pulled like the waves away from the shadows behind her. She could hear a whisper in her ears like the rustling of papers, until it grew louder and louder and it felt like the waves were crashing about her ears like the jagged rocks against the sea. When she opened her mouth, no sound emerged, but instead she found something chewy and sweet stuffed inside and left there. It tasted familiar, of all the things Reyna liked best, and after regaining consciousness fully Reyna began chewing on it, slowly. It was only then she realised it was ambrosia, and that she wasn't dead and someone was helping her.

Relief surged through her, but she was also disappointed that the pain was able to continue. She knew that the battle was still raging on from the sounds around her, and she was slightly confused as to how she wasn't dead yet, but she couldn't fully think straight and eventually fell asleep again. From then on, she kept slipping from consciousness to unconsciousness until she knew that eventually she would have to get up and continue fighting. Reyna mentally groaned as she was about to give up and die, when some more ambrosia was stuffed in her mouth and she fell asleep again.

The second time she woke up, Reyna had the odd sensation of someone gently stroking her cheek, and had she been feeling more awake her eyes would have shot open and she would demand what poor demigod was touching her this way. But it was soothing and she was dying so she didn't care much for her reputation, and if she enjoyed this nice, new sensation what would be the point in throwing it away, especially if she has mere hours left to live? Besides, whoever was stroking her cheek had a certain calming touch at their fingertips, and it warmed Reyna down to her toes. It was like the buttered bread with honey that she used to love back on Circe's island – it left her wanting more. She sank into the person's warm hand, allowing herself to ignore the brief pain that sprang awake at her movement and snuggling into their arm. Whoever it was paused slightly at her movement, but soon loosened up and let her rest.

The third time she woke up, Reyna was pretty sure there was more than one person surrounding her. Someone was stroking her hair, someone had a hand on her shoulder, and two other people were clutching her hands tightly. All the touching and feeling slowly brought her back to awareness, until she was awake enough to open her eyes. Everything was groggy and blurry, and when she tried to close them again a pain in her forehead protested and she was forced to let the light do it's work on her eyes and bring her vision back to normal. She almost squeaked at the sight she now saw, but her throat allowed her to do nothing more than breathe.

Four people were looking down at her, their faces pressed together in concern and worry. Percy was there, relief sparking in his green eyes as he held her hand tighter and a weak yet hopeful smile tugged at his lips. Annabeth was there as well, rubbing his back soothingly and looking down on Reyna sadly, holding Percy's other hand over his shoulder.

Then Reyna turned her gaze as upwards as she could and found Piper stroking her hair gently, softly murmuring under her breath with her eyes closed, like she was praying. Her hand was on Reyna's shoulder, and when Reyna moved slightly it tightened until it could tighten no more and some more pain was added to what Reyna already had. She shifted her watch to her left a little, allowing herself to tilt her head slightly, when there were a few intakes of breath at her movement. Then the grip on her right hand and her shoulder loosened, and the stroking of her hair was grinded to a halt. Then there were the scraping of chairs and the shuffling of feet followed by the click of a door and some hushed whisperings, before... silence.

Reyna was on a bed, she could tell that much. It was familiar, incredibly familiar, and after feeling around on the sheets for a bit slowly, Reyna realised that it was her own bed back at her Praetor's house. Her hand subconsciously clutched the cover tightly, a sudden sort of happiness at the familiarity that spread through her body. She wanted to lie there forever, but someone was still holding her hand and she wanted to know who it was.

She forced her heavy eyelids to open, if only slightly, just so she could see who it was. They were met with a blue gaze so piercing and electrifying Reyna's hold tightened and her eyes, even her heavy eyes, widened in surprise. She started moving, shuffling away, trying to get away from him, but a strong arm reached over and held her other shoulder so she couldn't move. "Don't move. You'll just hurt yourself more."

The voice, _his _voice, was so strong and confident, Reyna found herself obeying his orders. His grip slackened and his fingertips were on her face, gently brushing her eyes closed. Reyna released the breath she had been holding and sighed contentedly. A window must have been open, because a cool breeze was blowing in and brushing her hair softly against her face. "This place brings back so many memories..." he said, his voice trailing off. Reyna wanted him to continue, to carry on speaking, so she could for once know what was going on in that boy's head, and just to hear his voice.

"Speak," she murmured softly, letting her fingers brush his hand. He rubbed his thumb over her palm, letting their fingers slide over each other until they could both trace each other's hands with their eyes closed.

"Okay," he replied. "I'll speak."

A smile crept onto her face. "Thanks."

"You know, you really scared me back there, on the battlefield. You scared all of us."

He paused, but Reyna remained silent. She desperately needed him to carry on speaking, so she could hear what he had to say. When she said nothing, he continued. "I- we thought you had died. I fed you what little ambrosia I had left, but it seemed it wasn't enough. Then you never woke up until now, and, well... we all thought you had gone."

Confused, confused, oh, so confused. Reyna could take it no longer, and despite Jason's earlier warnings, she pulled herself up so was propped against the bedstead, and did her best to ignore the sting in her forehead and the painful twinge in her stomach. Jason hastily leaned forward, reaching out his arms in an attempt to keep her down, but gave up when he saw that she was determined to sit up. Reyna breathed heavily, as the effort it took to just sit up took a lot out of her, and she needed to recapture her breath before she could speak.

"You never acted like-" she took another gasp of air, "this before," she choked out. Her voice was gravelly and hoarse. "Has a-anything hap-happened?"

He paused, his blue eyes deep in thought. It appeared that he was trying to figure out how to word something. When he didn't speak, Reyna felt the need to break the silence. "Has a-anyone died? D-did we lose? Is the legion okay-" she was silenced when he pressed a finger to her lips. She narrowed her eyes down at her nose, before turning to glare at him. He looked amused.

"Reyna, Reyna, Reyna," he chuckled. "Always thinking of the legion before herself. They're fine, don't worry."

But Reyna wasn't done yet. "I know that," she snapped. Jason winced. Reyna had let her tough, sullen demeanour slip with Jason, because she had forgotten that Jason had forgotten. He was no longer the Jason she had known, and so she was no longer the same Reyna. "I wanted to know whether we had won or not."

"Well..." he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not meeting her gaze. "Do you really want me to tell you?"

Reyna felt sick. She had just woken up, after barely scraping Hades in the midst of a battlefield, a fight that would settle the fate of the world and all their lives. And here Jason was, knowing full well he didn't remember and that he shouldn't joke about it, teasing her like it's all just a big game. She wanted to slap him. "You will tell me, because I am your Praetor and have authority over you, _Grace,_" she spat. Jason just blinked. When he didn't respond, Reyna racked her brain to search through and through what she had said to try and find what had rendered him speechless. When she did, her hands flew to her mouth and she slumped against the bed, looking ashamed. Jason watched her wordlessly. "I'm sorry. 'Grace' was the name I used to call you, before... well, you know," she admitted, somewhat sheepishly. Being 'sheepish' was a new experience for Reyna. She didn't particularly enjoy feeling weak.

But Jason's reaction to that, was definitely not what Reyna was expecting. In fact, she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. He rose from the chair that was seated next the bed and hauled himself up atop of the covers, next to her. Reyna couldn't remember the last time he had been this close to her, and it made her feel sick that he was. But something about the way he held himself... it was different. Different, yet painstakingly familiar.

Jason placed his hand on hers. Reyna wanted to flinch, but his skin was warm to the touch and she didn't want to draw away. Not just yet. Then he looked at her, 100% serious. It was the same expression he would bore when giving a political speech to the region, his voice, so confident and moving, would be enough to turn armies. He had always a way with words, and that used to be the thing Reyna admired about him. Used to be, anyway.

But then he spoke, and the words that left his lips were not what Reyna was expecting them to be. "I know," he whispered. Reyna leaned away slightly. Her dark eyes looked his face up and down, in a scared, apprehensive manner, like the rabbit eyeing the bowl of the gun before it scarpered.

"What?" she murmured, her voice barely audible. It was almost as if she made no sound at all.

A real, genuine smile spread across Jason's face as he replied. "Because I remember."

Reyna's heart stopped then and there. He _remembered. _He was the old Jason, _her _Jason, and now she could act around him however she wanted. But she couldn't bring herself to lose the stony, business-like guise. But he _actually remembered! _That could only mean one thing.

"We won?" she asked, still uncertain. Her voice wavered slightly as she tried to keep her cool, barely containing the relief and excitement that was coursing through her veins at the moment. Jason nodded.

"We won. And I guess, Juno, Hera, whatever, decided that I deserved my memories back," a smile spread across his face. Then, before anything else could happen, Reyna had flung her arms around him and was burying her face in his shoulder. Just like he had done at Mount Othrys, Jason tensed briefly under her touch. A warmth enveloped Reyna when he relaxed, and wrapped his arm around her tightly. "I can't believe I ever forgot," he murmured into her hair.

They had never been this close. Their foreheads touching, their faces so close they could feel each other's breath, their arms wrapped tightly around each other and their bodies pressed together. It was new to Reyna, new to Jason, and she didn't want to ever let go. They had both seen horrible things. Things mortals couldn't even dream of. Pain, death, torture. But the warmth they felt in each other's arms, the bond that Jason had remembered, was enough to put those things behind them. Reyna had never felt better than she had done in his arms, and now they were alone, she didn't want to waste a second. Had she been any other girl, she would have wept onto his shoulder, but she just smiled against the sunset that streamed in through her window, signalling a new peace. At least until the next Titan/Giant war.

Things were all so perfect, until Jason pressed his mouth gently against her hair. She froze, her arms tightening around his middle. Jason was filled with worry; had he done something wrong? What was it he said? But he couldn't think of anything to say, and just waited until she decided to speak. "What about Piper?"

Reyna felt Jason freeze just as she had done in her arms. The fingers he had running through her silky hair and been pulled away, and his lips were pursed. "She... she broke it off after I regained my memories."

Reyna felt awful. She had seen how awful and depressed the girl had been before arriving at Camp Jupiter, and how grateful she was to Reyna after she had given him Jason. But now she was willingly giving him back, for permanent. Reyna pressed her face further into Jason's sleeve. "Oh."

"She said it was only fair that we were no longer together; I guess it would make sense, after all. The Greeks are going back tomorrow, and then everything will be back to normal."

Reyna pulled away. "You mean you-" she couldn't bring herself to finish it. Jason looked at her expectantly. "Are you going... w-with them?"

He smiled, and pulled her closer. "No. I'm here to stay."

Reyna smiled, letting the complete bliss of the situation seep into her fully. "Good."

Then she kissed him, just for a moment, on the cheek. He tucked her hair back behind her ear, which was actually quite a feat because of the bloodied bandage wrapped across her forehead.

"And if there are any more wars, Grace, this time, I've got your back."

Jason smiled. "I got your back too."

**A/N. Yay! I'm so glad this is finished. Anyway, I did it to take a break from a fanfiction series I'm writing, because I'm slightly too obsessed with that fandom and need some PJatO to get it out of my system, because I got so sick of it I can't write it anymore. -_- Anyway, I've got loads of homework and I've been really busy these holidays, which is why I haven't updated the other one. But enough about that, what did you think of this one? Forgive any mistakes or anything. I think they may have been out of character, and only when I had finished it did I realise it hardly makes any sense. :/ Oh well. Tell me if you think it got rushed towards the end or something, but NO FLAMES PLEASE. Constructive criticism is fine, but NO FLAMES.**

**Thank you. Sorry. Please review!**

**Disclaimer: All copyrights belong to Rick Riordan, not me.**

**Review! :)**

**~Franki **


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